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Adolph Friedrich Erdmann von Menzel

In a Railway Carriage (After a Night's Journey)

1851
Gouache, with touches of pastel and oil paint, on cream wove paper, laid down on Japanese paper
27.3 × 33 cm (10.7 × 13 in)

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In the collection of Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · as of July 2026

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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

This is a remarkable example of an early work from a pioneering proponent of Realism. Menzel revealed the unglamorous aspect of bourgeois train travel in many compelling details: a man asleep in a contorted position, a wistful woman gazing out at early morning light, the detritus of their journey around them. Menzel began to use opaque watercolor (gouache) in 1850, combining it with pastel (and oil) as seen here.

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